Comparing Japanese and American Culture w/ Hofstede
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Eric Hawkinson explores cultural differences using Gert Hofstede's six cultural dimensions, focusing on the United States and Japan. He discusses power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs. femininity, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint. Eric highlights how these dimensions shape societal norms and organizational structures, emphasizing the significant contrasts between the two countries. He invites viewers to consider how these cultural aspects impact business practices and encourages further exploration of these topics.
Takeaways
- 🌐 Eric Hawkinson discusses cultural differences, focusing on Japan and the United States, using Gert Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory.
- 🏛️ Power Distance: Both Japan and the United States have a moderate tolerance for power inequalities, indicating a balance between hierarchical and flat organizational structures.
- 🤝 Individualism vs. Collectivism: The United States scores high on individualism, valuing personal freedom and privacy, while Japan scores high on collectivism, emphasizing group harmony and societal pressures to conform.
- 🔧 Uncertainty Avoidance: Japan has a high score, indicating a preference for strict plans and structured approaches to avoid uncertainty, contrasting with the United States' lower score, which suggests a more relaxed attitude towards ambiguity.
- 💪 Masculinity: Japan ranks high on masculinity, upholding traditional gender roles, whereas the United States shows more gender equality and fluidity in societal roles.
- 🌱 Long-term Orientation: Japan values long-term perspectives, with a focus on future benefits and perseverance, in contrast to the United States, which tends to prioritize short-term goals and immediate rewards.
- 🍽️ Indulgence vs. Restraint: The United States scores higher on indulgence, allowing for more personal gratification and less societal restraint, while Japan leans towards restraint, promoting self-control and consideration for the group.
- 🏢 Hofstede's model helps to understand how cultural dimensions can influence business practices and organizational structures in different countries.
- 🌟 The script highlights the importance of recognizing and navigating cultural differences, especially in a global business context.
- 📚 Eric Hawkinson invites viewers to explore further discussions on these cultural dimensions and their impact on business and society.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video script?
-The main topic discussed in the video script is cultural differences, specifically focusing on the cultural dimensions theory by Gert Hofstede, and applying it to compare the cultures of Japan and the United States.
Who developed the cultural dimensions theory mentioned in the script?
-Gert Hofstede developed the cultural dimensions theory.
What are the five cultural dimensions used by Hofstede to compare countries?
-The five cultural dimensions used by Hofstede are Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity vs. Femininity, and Long-term Orientation.
What does Power Distance refer to in Hofstede's model?
-Power Distance refers to the degree of inequality within a society and the extent to which people in a society accept this inequality.
How do Japan and the United States compare in terms of Power Distance?
-Both Japan and the United States are quite similar in terms of Power Distance, ranking somewhere in the middle among the countries studied by Hofstede.
What does a high score in Individualism vs. Collectivism indicate?
-A high score in Individualism vs. Collectivism indicates that a society places a higher value on individual freedoms, time, and privacy, whereas a low score indicates a higher collectivism, emphasizing group contribution and harmony.
Which country has a higher Individualism score, the United States or Japan?
-The United States has a higher Individualism score, being ranked number one in the world for individualistic culture.
How does Uncertainty Avoidance differ between Japan and the United States?
-Japan has a higher Uncertainty Avoidance score, indicating a society that is uncomfortable with ambiguity and prefers strict plans and structures. The United States has a lower score, showing a more relaxed attitude towards uncertainty and risk.
What is meant by Masculinity in Hofstede's cultural dimensions?
-Masculinity in Hofstede's model refers to the degree to which a society values traditional male and female roles, with a higher score indicating a clear distinction between these roles and a lower score indicating more gender equality.
Which country ranks higher in Masculinity according to Hofstede's model?
-Japan ranks higher in Masculinity, being one of the top countries in the world for this cultural dimension.
What does Long-term Orientation mean in the context of Hofstede's cultural dimensions?
-Long-term Orientation refers to the extent to which a society values and practices long-term commitments and rewards over short-term gains.
How do the concepts of 'instant gratification' and 'gamman' illustrate the difference in indulgence between the United States and Japan?
-The concept of 'instant gratification' is more prevalent in the United States, indicating a higher indulgence culture. In contrast, 'gamman' is a Japanese concept of willful patience and self-restraint, illustrating a lower indulgence culture in Japan.
What is the sixth dimension added to Hofstede's model, and what does it measure?
-The sixth dimension added to Hofstede's model is Indulgence vs. Restraint, which measures the extent to which a society allows the gratification of desires and impulses versus curbing them.
Outlines
🌐 Power Distance in Culture
This paragraph introduces the concept of cultural differences and focuses on the first dimension of Girt Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory: power distance. Power distance refers to the degree of inequality and the extent to which societies accept this inequality. The discussion compares the United States and Japan, noting that both countries have a relatively low power distance score, indicating less hierarchical structures and more equal treatment within organizations. The speaker uses examples such as the military and democratic societies to illustrate the concept. The key takeaway is that high or low scores in power distance are not inherently good or bad but are used to highlight cultural differences.
🤔 Individualism vs. Collectivism
The second paragraph delves into the cultural dimension of individualism versus collectivism, explaining that individualism values personal freedom and privacy, while collectivism emphasizes group interests and contributions. The United States is highlighted as the most individualistic country, whereas Japan is more collectivist, with societal pressures to conform and fit in. The speaker contrasts this with sayings from both cultures, illustrating the cultural differences. The United States values the 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' mentality, encouraging individual expression, whereas Japan's 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down' reflects a preference for conformity and group harmony.
🌀 Uncertainty Avoidance
This section discusses the third dimension: uncertainty avoidance, which measures how comfortable a society is with unpredictability and ambiguity. Japan is described as having a high uncertainty avoidance score, meaning it values strict planning, rules, and structure to minimize uncertainty. This is attributed to Japan's high exposure to natural disasters, which has shaped a culture of preparedness. In contrast, the United States is portrayed as more comfortable with risk and less concerned with detailed planning, reflecting a lower uncertainty avoidance score.
💪 Masculinity and Long-Term Orientation
The third paragraph covers two dimensions: masculinity and long-term orientation. Masculinity refers to the traditional gender roles in society, with Japan scoring high on this scale, indicating a clear distinction between male and female roles. The United States is more egalitarian in this regard. Long-term orientation is the next dimension, where Japan is noted for its focus on long-term goals, savings, and future planning, in contrast to the United States, which tends to prioritize short-term results and individualism. The speaker provides examples such as savings habits and corporate leadership to illustrate these cultural tendencies.
🍽️ Indulgence and Restraint
The final paragraph introduces the sixth dimension of indulgence versus restraint, which measures a society's tolerance for gratifying desires. The United States is characterized as more indulgent, with a culture that encourages instant gratification and less restraint. Japan, on the other hand, is described as more restrained, with a culture that values patience and self-control for the greater good or long-term goals. The concept of 'gaman' is introduced as a Japanese term that encapsulates this idea of willful patience and self-restraint. The speaker reflects on how these cultural dimensions might impact business practices and organizational structures in the two countries.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cultural Differences
💡Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions
💡Power Distance
💡Individualism vs. Collectivism
💡Uncertainty Avoidance
💡Masculinity
💡Long-term Orientation
💡Indulgence vs. Restraint
💡Societal Pressures
💡In-Group vs. Out-Group
Highlights
Introduction to cultural differences and their impact on nationalities, corporations, and groups.
Discussion of Girt Hofstede's cultural dimensions as a framework for understanding cultural values and customs.
Explanation of the first dimension: Power Distance, and its implications for organizational structure.
Comparison of the United States and Japan on the Power Distance scale, highlighting their similarities.
Introduction of the second dimension: Individualism versus Collectivism, and its societal impacts.
Analysis of the United States as the most individualistic country and Japan's collectivist tendencies.
Cultural sayings illustrating the difference between individualism and collectivism in the US and Japan.
Exploration of the third dimension: Uncertainty Avoidance, and its correlation with societal comfort with unpredictability.
Contrasting Japan's high Uncertainty Avoidance with the United States' more relaxed approach.
Discussion of the fourth dimension: Masculinity versus Femininity, and its reflection on gender roles in society.
Japan's high Masculinity score and its traditional gender role expectations contrasted with the United States.
Introduction of the fifth dimension: Long-term versus Short-term Orientation, and its influence on societal priorities.
Japan's focus on long-term goals versus the United States' more immediate focus, with examples of savings and debt.
Inclusion of the sixth dimension: Indulgence versus Restraint, a newer addition to Hofstede's model.
Comparison of the United States' indulgence with Japan's restraint, including societal norms and behaviors.
The concept of 'Ganbatte' in Japan as an example of willful patience and self-restraint.
Implications of cultural dimensions on business practices and organizational structures in the US and Japan.
Invitation for further discussion on cultural dimensions and their impact on international business.
Transcripts
well well well well
hello there Eric here and today I'd like
to talk to you a little bit about
culture namely cultural differences
between nationalities but this can also
be applied to culture within
corporations culture leadership and
culture just in between groups of people
and I live in Japan I'm American so I'm
going to be incorporating my experiences
between these two cultures and I'm going
to be using Girt Hofstede's
cultural dimensions if you don't know
about those kurt Hofstede i developed
these cultural dimensions as a way to
measure different values and customs and
importances between cultures and he did
most of this important work working at
the IBM research labs between 1967 and
1973 where he used these five cultural
dimensions to compare 70 countries
around the world and today we're going
to be looking at Japan and the United
States so the first dimension is power
distance and this is the degree of
inequality but even more than that it's
the degree in which societies a group of
people will tolerate big gaps in power
in organizations you might see this more
as a vertical unless a flat organization
so some of the values you might see in
there a higher power distance score
might be a more centralized structure
the hierarchy is more vertical and
stronger there might be some gaps large
gaps in compensation between groups and
individuals and also gaps between
Authority and respect shown to
individuals within that group and the
lower power distance score means a more
flatter organization a more flat Society
supervisor employees are considered more
as equals
they might get even more equal pay and
as we go through this higher scores and
lower scores aren't necessarily good or
bad they're just ranking to show a
difference between two cultures so keep
that in mind so a high power distance
score doesn't mean that the organization
or country is better in any way so
thinking about power distance the extent
to which a society lets gaps or a
vertical sight types organization rather
than a flat one which one do you think
scores higher as far as power distance
goes where the United States and Japan
give you one second to think about that
and a lower score again means that the
group is considered more and it's more
flat a flatter organization on an
actuality United States Japan are quite
similar in this regard if for an example
of its organization having a very power
distance driven type organization you
can think about the military very flat
one might be a more democratic type
situation and both the United States and
Japan are very democratic as now so
there isn't a whole lot of difference
between them as far as power distance is
concerned and both of these countries
rank somewhere in the Middle's in the
seventy countries in the this
decade-long study the next one is
individualism versus collectivism so
this is the strength the bonds that tie
people together in the community do
people put the individual first yourself
first or do they put the group first and
this is a
sometimes the score is commonly looked
at as higher individuality ranking or a
higher collectivism ranking so in this
context the higher score meeting more
value is placed on the individuals time
the individuals freedom the respect for
the individuals privacy and the lower
score is higher collectivism so there's
more emphasis and more value put on your
contribution to a group and therefore
you might find an emphasis on building
your skill becoming a master at
something because it perhaps that you
may be more useful to a group if you
were skilled at one thing and you might
be better off as an individual if you
value those being kind of a
jack-of-all-trades
so again higher score individualistic
lower score or collectivistic which one
do you think I think this one's probably
pretty easy because for these two
countries these are drastically
different and if you guess the United
States being higher score here you are
correct actually the United States is
the number one in the world is scoring
as far as being individualistic and
Japan thinks more about the group
there's more societal pressures to be
part of the group and this all comes
with the type of society built around in
your upbringing to be to fit in to the
group there's more of an in-group
out-group structure in Japan as well one
way I'd like to illustrate this is two
very well-known sayings one in Japan
they Toto give a hoot on a dough and the
squeaky wheel gets the grease the first
saying is translate basically into the
nail that sticks out gets hammered down
basically if you want to survive keep
your head down don't make yourself No
being a part of the group fit in
basically is what that saying says if
you make yourself too loud to make stick
yourself out too much you're going to
get run over as it were and in contrast
to that the sweetie wheel gets the
grease
if you complain if you say something if
you make some thumb something known and
if you're loud enough in the States you
might just get what you want or get what
you need next one uncertainty avoidance
this is a degree which society is
comfortable without having a strict plan
of what's going to happen in the near
future or without knowing exactly what's
going to happen or going into unknown
situations without being able to play it
by ear as it were or being comfortable
with playing it by ear not not needing a
fixed plan or a fixed contingency plan
as it were so a higher you a I in this
score would be more formal need more
rules you need more policies and you
need to adhere to a strict structure and
you want to avoid differences and a
lower you AI is a little more informal
you're more accepting to risk you're
more accepting to not going into
something without necessarily knowing
the outcome or not not even maybe
knowing how you'll get through it
entirely step-by-step so as again what
do you think the higher score meaning
you accept ambiguity and the lower score
meaning you don't I'm sorry it's the
opposite if you want to avoid
uncertainty that's the higher score here
and that is Japan and one of the highest
scores in the world actually one of the
reasons I tribute this is
Japan has some of the highest rates of
natural disasters in the world so there
is big it's been a big part of the
culture to be prepared for whatever
might go wrong and there's constant
large-scale public drills everything is
planned out into great detail for almost
everything and it's very uncomfortable
in Japanese society to even have a large
budget in organisations without going
over every detail very minutely and on
the on the Traverse side of United
States is fairly low on the scale very
easygoing as far as that's concerned you
don't need to consider all the
contingencies oh it's okay to take a
little risk and see what happens kind of
thing played by here next one is
masculinity and this is the degree of
society and values that places a high
emphasis on of traditional male and
female roles so a higher masculinity
score means men are masculine and women
are feminine in this again this is more
traditional sense of those words the
distinction of what males are to do a
society and the roles and which females
fit into society are well established
and there is a lot of deviation from
that and the lower scores it's more of
an equal playing field women are in more
positions of leadership and power
successful women are more admired and
respected and not only that women are
drawn to these things a little bit more
than in a higher masculine Society
higher mass of a society women are more
comfortable playing might feel more
comfortable in the traditional roles
so this one might be a little bit easier
higher score high masculinity lower
score a little more of a ambiguity
between the sexes so if you said Japan
is high you are correct
Japan is also one of the highest in the
world in this ranking I believe they're
either one or two and the that just as
an example of that in the top fifty
corporations largest corporations in
Japan there is only one or two female
board members that's into all of the top
50 country organizations in Japan and I
believe that company is Sony and that
woman is actually a four not Japanese
and in the States
it's a little more equal as far as those
concerned women are going for more
leadership roles and are we see little
more househusbands and things like that
in the States
next is long-term orientation so this is
a short-term view or a long-term view
which one is more important to focus on
if you're a higher long-term oriented
type Society you're going to put more
emphasis on things that will pan out in
the long run and things that are better
in the long run that usually comes down
to importance on things like education
training if instructor family and also a
struggle work ethic because you're you
don't need necessarily see rewards for
what you're doing right away and on the
lower score this sense would mean the
little more creativity and individualism
and more looking at short-term goals or
short-term
rewards from what you're getting at and
think about Japan and United States
again which one do you think is more
long-term orientated again Japan and the
United States differ for this very
greatly Japan just as an example here
the average savings the average person
in Japan is one of the top in the world
average Japanese person will have a
large amount of money in their savings
account in the bank and I believe in the
United States the average is negative
the average American does not have any
savings the average American has quite a
bit of debt so that's just one thing
looking in the long term also in
Americans are a little more concerned
with the quarterly report a little more
concerned with the election cycle and
Japan's a little more concerned with
what's going to happen in the long run
it might be also connected to the age of
these two societies as well there is I
said in beginning there is actually five
dimensions but there was a sixth added
since I last looked at this three or
four years ago and that is the idea of
indulgence and this is a sixth dimension
fairly new and it's the extent to which
people in society people within that
society control people to curb their own
impulses and desires so a higher
indulgence a higher score in this sense
would be that you're free to enjoy life
society doesn't restrain you in any way
you can look for instant gratification
they're less they're loose or social
norms on you going after what you want
to do and a lower score in here would be
a higher level of constraint your self
constrained society is telling you to
self constraint
want to curb your gratification and the
social norms are a bit more strict so
higher indulgences lower score meaning
restraint so what do you think now if
you said the United States is more
likely to indulge you are correct
Japan is a little more likely to curb
yourself or stretch yourself off or
because there's an idea of saving face a
lot more in Japan you don't want to look
like you're taking out of goes a good
with the group analysis that I've put a
layer you don't want to stick out you
know what I look like you are having too
much fun because we're all supposed to
be you know in and together kind of idea
and to illustrate this we got the noun
generation this is going along with the
technology these days we need instant
gratification in the States and we want
it now we want it right away moving more
and more towards this as we move along
being able to for example fast food and
order things and make it receive the
next day on the internet on the other
side of things there's this phrase or
concept more of a concept really and
that is gamma to do so do is do gum on
translates as patients but it's more
than that it's willful patients it's
holding yourself back on purpose for the
good of either the long term or the good
of the group it's self restraint in a
way and this term is widely used all
over Japan it's very hard to be
translated into English and I think it
kind of exemplifies this idea of a less
indulgent society here in Japan and just
to compare these once again power
distance United States a little bit
lower individualism United States top
number one America number one
masculinity Japan number one in the
world and certainty avoidance big a gap
there between the two cultures short
term versus long term huge gap between
these two societies indulgence and
restraint also not so big but a little
bit of difference there too and one
thing to start thinking about is how
this might affect how you do business in
these two countries how these
organizations will be built in these two
countries if you want to discuss that
further I invite you to look in the
description and watch for further videos
right again this is Eric Hawkinson
talking about cultural dimensions and
I'll see you next time
well well well
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